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Warrior Mind Training

Among the newest programs designed to teach soldiers and veterans how to deal with the intricacies of battle and how to maintain focus before, during, and after deployment, Warrior Mind Training was developed by a group of Vietnam-era veterans with assistance from various mental health professionals. Adopted by the U.S. military in the last few years, the technique teaches participants to “battle proof” their mind and to “Take the war to the enemy, but leave the battle on the battlefield.”

Warrior Mind Training uses age-old techniques adopted by samurai and other elite warriors and is available to active duty, reserve, and retired military personnel. The courses that are part of the Warrior Mind Training system are taught by individuals that are trained in the area of mind focus and are instructed as to how to address issues that are peculiar to those who serve or have served in combat, especially the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Immunization/Resiliency

A course entitled Immunization/Resiliency is the main offering for those who are facing deployment or are already deployed to the war front. Deployed individuals can gather training via web seminars or teleconferencing while face-to-face classes are offered at bases in North Carolina, California, and Connecticut before deployment. This initial course centers of learning focus, clarity, and mental resilience with emphasis on long deployments. Students are taught to look for the “calm” in particularly stressful situations. Akin to meditation but geared specifically towards combat scenarios, those who master the technique of finding the calm can call upon these techniques wherever they are without the help of instructor.

Decompression

Designed specifically for veterans who are having difficulty re-adjusting after combat experiences and those who are having a hard time assimilating back into civilian life, the Decompression course also uses ancient mind-focusing techniques, combining them with the healing power of music to provide troubled vets with a new outlook and renewed energy. In particular, the course teaches them to focus in a new direction, leaving the events of the past behind, especially those that are interfering with the vet’s daily activities, including work, as well as his/her relationships with others.

Other Courses

The Warrior Mind Training system also includes a class on stress and anger management, which teaches the soldier or vet to free himself from the shackles of anger and anxiety and to break the cycle of violent reaction-response. In conjunction with this course, which recognizes that a vet’s combat-related mental health issues affects his family as well, Warrior Mind Training offers a class for spouses and adult children of those who are suffering from severe combat-related stress or anger.

The U.S. military also recognizes that of the 300,000 or so Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans that are eligible for VA-based healthcare, about 20 percent suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Therefore, training that is specifically geared for a PTSD sufferer is offered at some locations, often in conjunction with other counseling services. Traumatic Brain Injury issues are also addressed as are the problems that face those who have attempted suicide after their time on the battlefield.

Last modified: December 24, 2010.